Video with Overland Park officer missing from report on John Albers shooting
A video recording of an interview with a police officer is yet another piece of evidence that was missing from Overland Park’s release of the investigative file on the John Albers shooting.
Mounting pressure led the City of Overland Park to release the Officer-Involved Shooting Investigation Teams’ (OISIT) report in late April. The city said the 498-page report “reflects a complete and thorough investigation.”
But in the months since, more information has been discovered. That includes a lab report with a ballistics analysis and a digital reconstruction of the shooting scene. It also includes hundreds of still photos captured from police dash cams. The recordings had been released, but the still images had not. They were located by Overland Park in response to an open records request in “an unlabeled compressed folder,” the city said in June.
In July, an additional 2,000 still images from previously released dash cam recordings were obtained, and a sealed envelope that may contain media files was discovered in the police department’s property room.
Last week, officials acknowledged the existence of a videotaped interview with Overland Park police officer William Robbins. The interview was mentioned on page 389 of the OISIT report, but the video has not been released. Interviews with four other Overland Park officers were published alongside the report in April. It’s unclear why Robbins’ video was not included.
The OISIT report indicated that Robbins responded to the Jan. 20, 2018, shooting that killed 17-year-old John Albers. Police had been called for a welfare check on the teen, who was believed to be suicidal. Former Overland Park police officer Clayton Jenison fired 13 shots, striking Albers six times as the teen backed out of the driveway in a minivan.
The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office did not file charges on Jenison and the officer was given a $70,000 severance for leaving the department.
According to the report, Robbins was interviewed the next day by a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office detective at the Olathe Police Department. OISIT is a multi-jurisdictional team comprised of various law enforcement agencies in Johnson County.
Robbins said he observed Jenison after the shooting sitting in a patrol car with a “blank stare,” the report said. He told Jenison to relax and that he did not have to talk about the incident. Robbins said he and Jenison were both military veterans and he had pulled Jenison aside and said if he needed anything, to give him a call.
Sgt. Jesse Valdez, a spokesman with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, said last week that the interview should have been downloaded by someone from the Olathe Police Department since the interview took place at their station.
Olathe Police Sgt. Joel Yeldell said information and evidence was submitted to the Overland Park Police Department and referred any question about the Albers investigation to Overland Park.
Sean Reilly, spokesman for the City of Overland Park, said Robbins’ video was not included in the OISIT report provided to the city by the OISIT team. Officials believe that the video was transferred from the Olathe Police Department to the Overland Park Police Department in March 2018 when evidence was handed over after the investigation was completed.
“If so, this original copy remains as sealed evidence in our property room,” Reilly said in a statement to The Star. “However because it is sealed that cannot be confirmed without unsealing the evidence and inspecting it, which may interfere with the ongoing FBI investigation.”
Last year, federal authorities confirmed a civil rights investigation had been launched into Albers’ death.
Reilly said Overland Park personnel did not participate in the OISIT investigation except as witnesses.
“Therefore, we cannot comment on any decisions about what did or did not go into the OISIT report,” he said. “Any questions about the importance of the video as it relates to a charging decision should be directed to the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office.”
The District Attorney’s office said it was not involved in the release of the records by Overland Park and redirected questions to Overland Park.
Sheila Albers, John’s mom, disputed Overland Park’s comment that the report was complete, and called on the city to withdraw from OISIT until there are checks on the team’s process.
“The OISIT team did not manage their evidence and information they obtained through their investigation in an organized fashion,” she said.
“The OISIT process is not impartial, it is not accurate and it is not thorough.”
Experts who reviewed the OISIT report at The Star’s request in June said it appeared detectives never considered that the shooting might not be justified and focused on Albers rather than Jenison.
This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 11:55 AM.
